Frederick P. Bellinger, Ph.D.
Associate Researcher
Area of Expertise ~ Trace metals in brain function and disorders/neurophysiology
Email: fb@hawaii.edu
Phone: +1 808-692-1512
Biography: Dr. Bellinger obtained a Ph.D. in Biochemistry with a focus on neuroscience from the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. He spent two years performing research at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wakoshi, Saitama, Japan. After a year at the University of New Mexico working with Dr. Michael Wilson investigating presynaptic physiology, Dr. Bellinger traveled to an even smaller island to work for Dr. Ian Cooke investigating the physiology of vesicular peptide release at the Pacific Biosciences Research Institute at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Dr. Bellinger joined the laboratory of Dr. Marla Berry as a post-doctoral fellow at the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Here he began researching the role of the selenoprotein family in neurological and neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Bellinger has served as a junior investigator on RCMI, INBRE and DIDARP center grants.
Research: Our current research focuses on the different roles of members of the selenoprotein family in brain physiology and neurological disorders. Selenoproteins are proteins that contain the strong antioxidant element selenium in the form of selenocysteine, 21st amino acid. We have reported changes in these proteins in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease and investigated their possible roles in these disorders. We are currently examining the roles of selenoproteins in regulating neurophysiology.